LETTER | With this letter, I would like to express my feeling as a rakyat regarding recently highly discussed issue which is the recognition of UEC (Unified Examination of Certification).

Prior to that, let me briefly introduce myself, I am an architect. I obtained my SPM and UEC within my six years of my Chinese high school period, and then I pursued my first degree in a local private university (IPTS) with a major in architecture and I just graduated with a Masters degree from a local university (IPTA).

To be a qualified professional architect (Part III), we have to carry out several procedures. At first, we have to register ourselves as a “Graduate Architect” with the Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia (LAM); second is to prepare a working logbook for at least two years and lastly is to pass the oral and writing examinations.

However, I have faced some obstacles in the registration of “Graduate Architect” and in the official reply from LAM on my registration, they mentioned that:

“Lembaga mendapati bahawa kelayakan UEC yang tuan milik adalah tidak setaraf dengan ‘A Level’. Oleh yang demikian, tempoh keseluruhan pengajian tuan tidak mencukupi syarat yang telah ditetapkan oleh Lembaga.”

This even though I have obtained the relevant qualification for the Part I and II. Still, my registration was not considered due to the “inequivalent” qualification of my UEC.

Leaving aside the technical consideration of that authority, I wish to focus on the problem that we are facing today - the predicament faced by the community due to the government’s reluctance to recognise an internationally recognized certificate for decades.

And yes, I’m part of that community and I decided to step up to voice out my thoughts with this open letter.

Education is about the deliverance of knowledge to an individual and also the cultivation of his/her self-esteem. The efficiency of education is highly dependent on the medium - language, where the federal constitution has granted us the freedom to learn with the desired language without prohibition.

Hence, it was purely out of my passion towards for knowledge that drove me to choose to study at a Chinese high school where my interest in science and mathematics was instilled with my mother tongue. However, I enjoyed Malay and English Literature a lot too.

I remembered I dedicated some time just to finish reading up and appreciating the novel “Bukit Kepong”, a true story about a group of policemen defending their station from an attack during the Malayan Emergency.

Compared to that chaotic period when the story took place, I'm really fortunate that we are living in a peaceful and harmonious society now.

Sadly, the negative response towards the UEC recognition from the rakyat has deviated our more critical attention for a better education system. The UEC has been condemned as a “unity destroying agent” and this particular remark has perplexed me, since when, or how, can the language preference of an individual or a group in knowledge pursuit contribute to social segregation?

I work in a multi-racial working environment and my educational background totally does not hinder my ability to mingle. Thus from my personal experience, the segregation argument is baseless.

Further, I believe our social unity for decades was constructed with the rakyat's possession of the virtue of tolerance, not by a singular group, but by the collective group. We can’t deny that we are different, however, we embrace each other, we respect each other and we recognise each other's contribution.

This is what makes us unique as a multiracial nation. So this is not a question of quantitative, nor a matter concerning the rights of the minority; instead, it is a qualitative matter where social unity can be further solidified with the recognition of good values and granting us a sense of belonging to the nation by which the virtue of tolerance is delivered.

Therefore, from the perspective of a knowledge-lover and diversity advocate, I hereby urge the government to honour virtue and abandon the unjust accusations towards this education gateway and recognize the UEC as soon as possible.

Let the power of knowledge and diversity make Malaysia brighter in future!

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.